


Your Tubbo

by MistBorn_SprenDeath, sleepybook_wyrm



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (ps all fight me's are the property of wyrm plz do not fight misty she's innocent), Also fight me, Angst, Crack, Fluff, Gen, Kidnapping, THEY'RE SIBLINGS YOUR HONOR, Toby Smith | Tubbo Needs a Hug, Toby Smith | Tubbo and TommyInnit are Siblings, TommyInnit Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Tubbo and Wilbur are siblings, Wilbur Soot Needs a Hug, Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, and it turned into a monster, basically a strange mix of all three, but not in the life-threatening sense, come vibe we ignore canon here, crack-fic prompt turned angsty, hugs are everything fite me, i'm just the idiot who got a hold of the tagging system, in the take-abreak-from-your-responsibilities-you-overworked-child sense, this was a prompt, tis a worthy cause, wait that's not a tag? SHAME ON YOUR COWS, we love and support Ghostbur in this, we're just vibin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:56:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28601817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistBorn_SprenDeath/pseuds/MistBorn_SprenDeath, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepybook_wyrm/pseuds/sleepybook_wyrm
Summary: Instead of “Your Tubbo” Compass, Ghostbur brings the real deal….Tubbo.Based off of this Tumblr prompt:I was rewatching some ghostbur clipsAnd you wanna know what would have been hilarious.Ghostbur just kidnapping Tubbo to give to Tommy instead of the Compass. And Tommy does get Tubbo out of it and he has to go back to l’manburg but somehow the Ghost just always ends up kidnapping him to put him back.Explaining this to dream as well….https://space-records.tumblr.com/post/638964177429544960/i-was-rewatching-some-ghostbur-clips-and-you
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot
Comments: 112
Kudos: 656





	1. Carted Off

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a short crack fic, but then we got a little excited. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~Misty
> 
> (sleepybook_wyrm was my brilliant collaborator, be sure to check them out!)

Tubbo gave an internal groan. The meeting had dragged on longer than normal today, and he honestly just wanted it done and over with for the moment so he could get started on the half a million other tasks he was expected to fulfill for the benefit of the nation.

It was already past noon, and Quackity still wanted to meet with him later to discuss their…..army. Great.  _ Another meeting _ . Tubbo was so  _ done _ with meetings.

Being president was much harder than either Wilbur or Schlatt had made it out to be. Or maybe it was just Tubbo. Maybe he really wasn’t president material.

_ No, don’t think like that. One thing at a time, remember? _

He couldn’t get overwhelmed now. There was too much that still needed doing.

Sighing, Tubbo stood up, rearranging the papers on his desk before he left. If he was lucky, he might even be able to avoid being jumped on by Quackity and his never-ending list of concerns.

When he walked outside, he had to take a moment to blink and adjust to the sunlight after having spent so long inside. 

Then suddenly his feet were no longer planted on solid ground.

“Tubbo!” Ghostbur’s exclamation was accompanied with the sudden weightlessness of being picked up and thrown.

“Ghostbur?!”

With a jarring clatter, Tubbo found that he had been flung into a minecart, which, with a thud that could only be Ghostbur’s foot giving it a kick, quickly started speeding away down an unfamiliar track planted right in the smack-dab middle of the street.

“Ghostbur,  _ what _ ? What is this?! I have a meeting with Quackity in half an hour!’

Tubbo watched as the ghost pulled out another minecart and pushed himself down the rails with a loud cheer. “Ha, not anymore! We’re going on an adventure!”

The railroad was surprisingly long, though when he saw where the tracks were leading he understood.

“Wilbur!” Clutching the side of the speeding minecart, Tubbo turned to shout at the ghost. “Why are we going to the nether?!”

Ghostbur grinned.

“How else are we supposed to get to Tommy?”

“Wait,  _ what _ -?!”

The sudden sensation of being engulfed by the nether portal was nauseating.

Wilbur’s minecart popped through the nether portal only moments after. “And don’t worry about Quackity, I left him a note!”

“That...doesn’t solve anything, he’s still going to go ballistic, Wilbur.”

Another shove was given to the minecart, and Tubbo was sped across the lava lake bridges before he could hop back out. 

With a bright smile, Wilbur pushed his own minecart after. “Don’t worry! This is  _ much _ more important!”

Turning around in his cart, Tubbo gave the ghost his best scowl. “I don’t even know what ‘this’  _ is _ , and—”

Ghostbur cut him off, almost as if he couldn’t clearly tell Tubbo was miffed. “Didn’t I already tell you? We’re going to see Tommy!”

“I need a bit more of an explanation than that!” Another kick-shove. “You gave me no warning whatsoever, Wilbur! I mean, I had  _ plans _ and you’ve thoroughly made a mess of them!”

“This is more important, Tubbo.”

“Wilbur, I’m  _ president _ .”

“And Tommy misses you,” Ghostbur continued, as if Tubbo hadn’t spoken at all. His words caught Tubbo off guard and the ghost was quick to notice. “See? Important. You’re just scared to see him again, but you have nothing to worry about!”

Tubbo frowned, his gut turning. Resigned to whatever this was now, he turned back around to face forward again, watching forlornly as the brimstone scenery passed them by. “I  _ exiled _ him,” he muttered quietly, almost wishing it was too quiet for Ghostbur to hear. “I...I don’t think he wants to see me.”

With a sudden swerve and a loud screech, Tubbo’s minecart shuddered to a jerky halt as Ghostbur’s caught up and crashed right into his, flinging both of them onto the smoldering netherrack in a mess of bruised limbs and overturned metal.

Holding back a groan, Tubbo looked back at the tracks with a disheveled frown. “Is that...rust?”

“Yep! I brought these down from a previous experiment; I wanted to see if the rails would work underwater.”

“Why did you want to test the rails  _ underwater _ ?”

“To build a secret railway for you and Tommy! You know, like smugglers! But it didn’t work, so I just decided to build one in the nether for you.”

“I don’t think this one is particularly safe to use.”

Wilbur looked at the mess of minecarts and rails and hemmed in agreement. “Eh, you  _ miiiight _ be right about that.” As if shaking off a stray thought, Ghostbur turned back with a bright grin and pulled Tubbo through a nether portal he hadn’t noticed in the chaos of their crash. “But let’s go see Tommy!”

“Wait!  _ Wilbur— _ ” Tubbo tugged his arm back, but the cool, disorienting feeling of the nether portal had already washed over him.

Tumbling out of the portal backwards, Tubbo bit back a curse. 

“Tubbo?” Wilbur poked his head around the portal frame. “What are you doing on the ground?”

“Wilbur, I can’t just-” Gesturing to himself, Tubbo huffed. “- _ show up _ after I’ve exiled him. I don’t want to hurt Tommy anymore than I already have.” Standing up and dusting himself off, he adopted a stern look. “I am going back, right now, before anything else happens. This is a  _ bad idea _ , and you should know it.”

Ghostbur stared at him for a moment, blankly. Not breaking eye-contact or twitching a muscle in his face, he lifted a hand to his mouth and shouted, “TOMMY, I GOT SOMETHING FOR YA!”

“ _ Ghostbur! _ ” Tubbo hissed in open distress.

It was too late. Footsteps behind them sounded.

Tommy.

“Hey, Ghostbur.” His voice sounded so...dull. “What are you doing back so soon?”

Lifting Tubbo to his feet with hands under his arms, Wilbur replied easily, “Well, I brought you a gift!” The ghost patted the teen on the head. “And it’s a pretty good one, I think.”

Tubbo watched with wide eyes as Tommy walked over the top of the hill. His shirt was already torn in places and he was covered in dirt.

“Oh really? It better not be more blue, you’ve already given me more than I can—”

It was obvious the moment Tommy saw him. 

Tubbo ducked his head a bit, his whole body wanting to cringe away. Oh gosh. Why was this happening? 

He lifted a hand in a weak wave. “H-Hey, Big T.”

To Tubbo’s surprise, Tommy’s face lit up with a bright look of excitement.  _ Excitement _ . 

...To see  _ him _ ?

“Tubbo!”

It was only a second, but Tommy rushed toward him for a hug, before freezing, and Tubbo could practically see the gears turning in his head as he caught up to speed.

So the president of L’Manberg wasn’t going to be let off easy, then. That was fair, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

Tommy’s face fell blank. “Wait.” Blue-grey eyes narrowed sharply. “Why are you here?”

Why was he so surprised by the biting tone to Tommy’s voice?

“I—” 

He was cut off.

“Are you here to mock me as well?” Tommy’s glare and sudden shift in posture made Tubbo wince.

“No, silly, it’s your Tubbo!” Ghostbur pronounced obliviously, clapping his hands together happily and not at all reading the tense atmosphere between the two boys.

Tommy’s head whipped around to face the ghost. “Ghostbur, you  _ brought _ him here?”

“Well, it was more of a kidnapping,” Tubbo offered weakly, the joke not quite landing like it might have only days ago.

Tommy stopped, worry painted clearly across his face. “He kidnapped you?”

“With a minecart.”

“How does that even work?” 

Ghostbur cut in, emphatically crossing his arms over his chest. “No, no, no! I brought you  _ your Tubbo _ . You should be happy now! You said you were alone, and now you aren’t alone!”

Turning to face Tommy, Tubbo frowned. “Wait,” he said, his voice sounding frail to his own ears. “You’ve been alone? You...haven’t you had any visitors?”

Annnd Tommy was right back to that empty anger. “Why would anyone come to visit, Tubbo? Give a single good reason why  _ anyone _ would visit me!” he spat with the sort of venom that used to only be reserved for shouting at Dream or Technoblade.

“You’re my  _ friend _ , Tommy!” Tubbo shot back, throwing his arms out in frustration. That should have been reason enough.

“That didn’t stop you from exiling me.”

Apparently not.

Tubbo’s mouth closed with a snap as his shoulders drew up to his chin.

“Hey now!” Ghostbur interjected, stepping between them as he held out a handful of blue for each of them, practically thrusting it under their noses. They both had to reel back before they accidentally got hit. “Have some blue! I know you’re both sad, but Tubbo can’t stay forever, okay? Stop fighting and just...have fun. For me?” 

Tubbo felt a sinking coldness in his chest. Since when had he and Tommy needed someone else to intervene during their conversations? Or, well, argument more like. This really wasn’t going well, was it? He sighed to himself quietly.

Maybe...he should be trying harder. He could forget for a little while, right? For his brothers?

Tommy smiled, but it was the fakest smile Tubbo had ever seen. “You’re right, Ghostbur. We should be making the best of it.” Turning his back, he glanced only briefly over his shoulder before he walked on, calling off-handedly, “So what are you waiting for? An invitation? Come on, I can show you around, I guess.”

Tubbo stumbled over his own feet, feeling nervous. When had he last felt this anxious just walking with Tommy?

They walked to the top of the slight incline.

“That’s tnret,” Tommy waved a bored hand at a pristine white tent, “the best tent you’ve ever seen.”

Pointing to a hole in the ground just off to the side, Tommy shrugged, almost as if he were bored. “This is my mine.”

He threw his hand back behind him in some general direction, “Oh and Ghostbur’s got a house back there, or something.”

“And there you have it, welcome to my humble abode.” The scathing sarcasm dripping off of Tommy’s words made Tubbo wince.

“I, uh, I like the tent. Tnret?”

Ghostbur chimed in, popping into the conversation. “Thanks! I made it for Tommy!”

Tubbo gave a tense chuckle. “I figured, doesn’t have the TommyInnit flair now does it? Not a speck of cobblestone in sight.”

Instead of laughing, Tommy’s disinterested expression turned sour.

Tubbo knew instantly he had said something he shouldn’t have, but he didn’t know why. What...what had changed? How had it changed so quickly?

The terse and prolonged silence was something unfamiliar to Tubbo, at least with Tommy. Tommy, who was brash and loud and never backed down to anyone. With the Tommy Tubbo knew, there wouldn’t have been a lick of silence. And certainly not an awkward silence. 

This was unraveling fast.

Silently angry Tommy was something he knew from their nights in the ravine of Pogtopia. But this Tommy seemed indifferent to the silence, letting them steep in it until it long overstayed its welcome. It was uncomfortable and disconcerting.

Only once Ghostbur cleared his throat, nudging Tommy roughly in the side with an elbow, was the silence finally broken.

Tommy coughed into one fist, clearly searching for something to say. “So, uh, how’s Ranboo doing?”

Tubbo paused, startled by the question, hesitating slightly before he answered with his brows furrowed in confusion. “Why do you want to know about Ranboo? He hasn’t been around all that long.”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

Tommy closed off further. “Nothing. Nevermind.” His answer was short and clipped as his shoulders hunched to his ears. “He just seemed like a...a cool guy. I guess.”

Tubbo grimaced. Tommy must have picked up on the unspoken  _ since you’ve been exiled _ that had been in his words. It had been unintentional, but it was a hard topic to avoid entirely. Not when...it affected them both so much. Tubbo bit his lip and looked away. 

This was not going well, not even remotely.

Both of them startled as their communicators buzzed, drawing their attention to the chat.

_ Dream has joined the game _ .

It was one sentence. One. Why did it put so much panic into Tommy’s eyes? Panic that did not belong there. 

“You need to go.” Tommy hurried back down the hill, snagging Tubbo’s wrist as he passed to drag him with him all the way to the portal.

“Wh-What?”

“You need to go,  _ now _ .” Tommy turned to his brother, and Tubbo noticed that his hands were trembling. It was such a small thing to notice, almost imperceptible, but the implications sent chills down Tubbo’s spine. “Ghostbur, take Tubbo back to L’Manberg.” 

Ghostbur pouted. “But he just got here! That’s no fun. He’s your Tubbo, he’s gotta stay a little longer! You haven’t been cheered up yet!”

“Yeah, well, you need to have better timing, preferably when Dream is  _ not _ about to pop up any sec—” 

“Hey! Tommy!” With a loud splash, Dream appeared in shining netherite armor, water dripping off him as he walked onto the sand. The man must have broken his boat too early, dunking himself into the sea. “How are we doing today?” 

“Finally took a bath, Dream?” Tommy quipped, and the sharp jab seemed to fit his usual mood, but Tubbo knew Tommy. That hurriedly buried glint in his eyes...Tommy was scared.

“Har, har, you’re hilarious. Now what have you been—wait.” As he left the shore and came closer, the sight of the L’Manberg President drew the admin up short. “ _ Tubbo _ ? What are you doing here?” Dream sounded genuinely curious, but something in his posture tensed and his stance shifted. It felt off. Like he was about to attack. “Is L’Manberg backing out on its verdict?” There was an edge to his voice. A silent threat.

Tommy brought his hands up placatingly. “Look, believe me, Dream, I know what this looks like, but I promise you it’s not. You see, uh,” clearly scrambling for something to say, he settled lamely on, “Wilbur has some sticky fingers.”

Dream shifted, a hand on his hip. He didn’t seem impressed by the answer. 

Simplifying it further for him, Tommy flatly offered,“Ghostbur dragged him here.” 

During the entire exchange, Tommy had been moving, easing his way carefully to stand slightly more in front of Tubbo, his wary eyes never leaving Dream’s form.

Something was wrong here.

Tubbo didn’t like this. At all.

With a bright smile, Ghostbur grabbed Tubbo by the shoulder, practically dragging the teen back with him as the ghost chimed in, “Tommy was feeling sad, so I brought him his Tubbo! Isn’t that great, Dream?”

Both Tommy and Wilbur were trying to hide it, but they were tense, moving around him as if he needed to be protected. But he didn’t. Tubbo had nothing to fear from an ally of his nation. Right?

The grin on Dream’s mask looked sharper, though his head only tilted forward, as if acknowledging the ghost. “Oh yeah, it’s  _ wonderful _ .”

Abruptly shifting his mood, Dream cocked his head to the side and his voice softened as he addressed Tommy. “You were feeling sad? Why didn’t you say something? I could’ve helped, you know, I’m your friend too, Toms.”

Reading the tension in Tommy’s shoulders, and the nervous fiddling of his hands, Tubbo could practically see the conflict playing across his face even with Tommy’s back turned to him. 

Tommy remained silent.

Ignoring the non-answer, Dream leaned forward, resting on one of the boat oars. “So, tell me then, what have the two of you been getting up to?”

“Tommy was just showing me around the place,” Tubbo offered, still hidden slightly behind his much taller friend.

“Ah, gotcha.” Dream casually tossed the oar into the air before catching it to store in his inventory, switching to his netherite sword. “Have you seen everything yet?”

“Yes, actually.” Tommy narrowed his eyes. “He was just leaving.”

Tommy’s posture had a tense rigidness to it that shouldn’t have been there, and it screamed _look out look out_ **_danger_**. 

“That’s too bad. Travel safe through the nether, Tubbo.” Dream raised a hand in farewell before he went off in the direction of Tommy’s tent. Tneret? Tnet? Tnret. Whatever.

Tubbo was pushed none too gently towards the portal. 

“Tommy, what is going on—”

Cutting him off, Tommy gave him another forceful shove, his voice hard. “Nothing.”

Tubbo tripped, catching himself on the portal frame before turning to face his best friend, eyes blazing. “You’re lying, Tommy, I know you are.” Grabbing Tommy’s wrist, Tubbo felt tears sting his eyes. “Please stop it! You’re scaring me!”

Tommy hesitated for a second before he broke eye contact and turned to Wilbur. “Ghostbur, make sure he gets back to L’Manberg in one piece. ‘Kay?”

“Okay!”

Anger bubbled under Tubbo’s skin, and he felt his worry and hesitance evaporating with the heat. “Don’t  _ ignore _ me, Tommy!”

Tommy froze, looking like a startled deer. “I—it’s just that—I mean—” He sighed, his shoulders slumping. He glanced over, gaze catching Tubbo’s. “Everything’s fine, Tubbo. Trust me, it is.” Then, almost as if it was tacked on at the last second, “Stay safe.”

One last shove, and Tubbo was through.

But that was just it. Tommy wasn’t slick. Not in the slightest. Tubbo could see the uncertainty in his eyes clear as day as the shifting purples of the nether portal whisked him away.

Something about this wasn’t adding up, wasn’t right. Exiling Tommy wasn’t supposed to  _ hurt _ him. Exiling Tommy wasn’t  _ meant _ to hurt him. It was just...it was supposed to keep him out of trouble for a bit. Not...whatever  _ this _ was.

Something was horribly wrong, and Tubbo felt it had to do with Dream’s change in demeanor. But...there wasn’t anything solid to base that off of. Besides, Dream was an ally, and Tubbo had to keep L’Manberg in mind. Dream wasn’t someone to trifle with on a whim, even for a best friend, not when you’re president.

Standing on the other side, in spite of the blistering heat of the nether air burning his lungs, Tubbo felt cold. 

Ghostbur popped up in front of him, talking conversationally. “It’s really too bad you couldn’t stay longer, Tommy has really missed you.”

Tubbo nearly couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat. That entire experience had been  _ awful _ , but at the same time… 

“Yeah….I miss him too.”

His hands clenched into tight fists and he stared down at them forlornly. The lava cast a red glow over everything, his skin brightly shadowed. Something in his chest twisted.

“Don’t worry, that just means you’ll have to go back!”

Tubbo’s head shot up so fast, he nearly gave himself whiplash. “Wilbur,  _ what _ , no! I can’t, I’m the  _ president— _ ”

“Oh that’s okay, Tubbster.” Ghostbur winked at him conspiratorially. “I understand  _ completely _ .” 

There was a gleam in Ghostbur’s eyes that reminded Tubbo of Alivebur, Wilbur. It was the same mischievous spark that had always glowed in Tommy’s eyes.

Somehow, Tubbo didn’t think the ghost actually got it. But he didn’t have the energy in him to fight the point.

Standing there beside Tommy’s portal, Tubbo felt so horribly alone….and so terribly homesick for everything they had lost.


	2. Strong Armed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nap Time! :) The cuddles are sacred

Ghostbur burst into the room loudly, bell in hand, with Fundy close on his father’s tail.

“It’s Tommy time!”

Tubbo looked up from his paperwork, and he could feel the lack of sleep getting to him when he replied almost-sluggishly, “What?” 

“It’s your dedicated Tommy time,” Ghostbur repeated like that explained everything before picking Tubbo up and slinging him over his shoulder, sending the paperwork flying everywhere. 

Tubbo blinked at his brother’s sweater-covered back. “I don’t  _ have _ a dedicated Tommy time, Ghostbu—Did you make a strength potion?” he cut himself off incredulously, watching as the particles fizzed off of Ghostbur’s skin.

“Ghostbur,  _ no _ ! Bad!” Fundy scolded, quickly gathering several of the scattered documents before smacking his father with the stack. “You can’t just kidnap Tubbo, he’s the president!” 

Shaking his head, Wilbur gave the fox hybrid a disappointed look. “It’s Tommy time, Fundy. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them, and right now, it’s Tommy time!” Tubbo heard a loud  _ fwap! _ He wanted to groan in misery. Wilbur had intentionally flung more papers off his desk. “Yay! This is  _ much _ more important than all that boring presidential stuff, let’s go!”

Tubbo looked up at the fox hybrid, and something passed over Fundy’s face in a flash before he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

Had that been worry?

“Fine, but if Quackity gets worked up in a tizzy, I’m not dealing with him.”

Wilbur grinned. “Just give him this!” 

There was a loud smacking sound, and when Ghostbur turned around to make his grand exit, Tubbo just caught sight of a disgruntled Fundy on the floor, buried under at least three different stacks of blue.  _ Okay, this was ridiculous, where on earth was the man getting the stuff. He  _ had _ to have a dealer. _

Maybe it was Dream. 

Then the door was slamming closed behind them and Tubbo heard Fundy’s exhausted shout of “He better be back by sunset, Wilbur!” before he was completely dragged away.

Despite several citizens spotting them as they traveled to the portal, no one came to help their president out. Tubbo was almost too exhausted to care. Okay, no, scratch that, he felt completely and utterly betrayed. The ungrateful muffins.

Travelling through a portal normally was disorienting. Traveling through a nether portal upside down was almost overwhelming enough to make Tubbo forget about the bags under his eyes.

Additionally, being carried across the nether bridges upside down was vaguely terrifying, and Tubbo told Wilbur as much. The ghost only reassured him it was perfectly safe and continued down the narrow path with a bounce in his step. 

“It’s alright, Tubbster! It’s all part of the plan!”

“Stop calling me Tubbster, it makes me sound like a toaster.” Tubbo nearly yawned but fought it back. “And what plan? You’re currently carrying me over a lake of lava. Wouldn’t it just be safer to let me walk?” 

“Nope!” Tubbo could hear the grin in Ghostbur’s voice as he popped the ‘p’. “That’s not part of the plan, Tubbo!”

Closing his eyes, and sighing, Tubbo fought off the warm drowsiness that the nether was bringing. “The more you say you have a plan, the less I’m inclined to believe it. Are you keeping an official book somewhere that has your official plan written down?”

“Nope!” Ghostbur chirped again, stepping off of the bridge and onto solid netherrack. “But that’s a brilliant idea! I could add it to my library.”

Going through Tommy’s nether portal upside down was just as disorienting as it was the first time, but when the world finally came into view it was much less sickening. 

Despite no longer being in the nether, Tubbo still felt oddly drowsy. “ _ Why _ would you want that in your library,” he paused, not quite able to fight back the yawn this time, “what purpose would it serve after the plan is fulfilled?”

“I collect all the books that everyone’s written, Tubbo, it helps me remember.”

Tubbo buried his face further into the ghost’s sweater and gave a soft hum in response.

“Tommy!” Ghostbur’s loud shout startled Tubbo. “I brought you a gift!”

“Wilbur, you better not have gotten me another cow. I already told you that Henry can’t be—” Tommy’s voice cut off. “ _ What in the _ —Did you attack Tubbo?!”

The jarring motion of being set back down on the ground and away from Ghostbur’s soft sweater made Tubbo sway on his feet for a moment as he let out a large yawn. “Hey, Big T. How’re...how’re you?” 

Before he could so much as register what was happening, Tommy was right in his space, searching him all over for injuries.

“Ghostbur, I  _ swear _ if you hurt Tubbo, I’m gonna—”

Tubbo leaned forward in a sort of awkward armless hug and mumbled tiredly into Tommy’s shoulder. “’m fine, Big Man. Missed you.” 

He felt Tommy tense under him, just for a second, before his arms were coming up and wrapping tight around him.

“Your arms are so long,” Tubbo muttered, only half-deliriously, leaning closer into his friend’s embrace. 

“Ghostbur, what in the name of Notch is wrong with him?”

“Oh! Tubbo’s been doing a lot of boring paperwork! He’s super sleepy.”

“Noooo,” Tubbo whined piteously, “m‘m not. I’m the  _ president _ .”

Ghostbur happily ignored him and threw his hands up in the air. “He needs a nap!”

Tommy was boney and lanky, more so than Tubbo last remembered, but he was safe and warm and  _ here _ , and that was all that mattered.

Mumbling against Tommy’s collar bone, Tubbo leaned closer. “Y’ur saf’ ‘n warm.” 

Tommy looked affronted. “I’m  _ what _ ?” 

“You should probably make sure he doesn’t fall, Tommy.”

Tubbo agreed, nodding sleepily. “Don’ wanna’ fall. ‘Ould be ow.” 

The world suddenly tilted and Ghostbur’s voice broke out in a panic. “Ah! Catch his head!” 

Oh. He might’ve just nodded his head right off Tommy’s shoulder. But luckily for him that was okay, Tommy wouldn’t let him fall. And he was right.

A hand caught the side of his head, moving him back to his previous spot before retreating. 

“Wilbur, what exactly am I supposed to do?!”

“Probably take a nap.”

“Wilbur you  _ know _ I can’t—”

That drew Tubbo’s attention and he looked up sharply. “ _ Wha’ _ ? Haven’ been  _ sleepin’ _ ?”

Tommy’s face was so offended, Tubbo might as well have insulted his music discs. “You’re one to talk,  _ Mr. President _ .” 

“No,” Tubbo shook his head a little too quickly and he gripped Tommy’s shoulders tightly for a moment. “No,” he began again, “‘m sleepin’.” 

Ghostbur began snickering off to the side. “Look at him! Aww, he needs a nap.” He tilted his head, and Tubbo saw a spark of the old Wilbur. “And lookie here, you do too, Tommy! Now, who could have planned this out?”

Pointing an accusing finger at Wilbur, Tubbo sleepily glared at the ghost. “‘Ou. ‘ou did.”

Tommy looked away, a conflicted expression on his face. “Wilbur, you know that I have to remain vigilant. If I’m sleeping….things can sneak up and attack.”

With a hum of discontent, Tubbo grabbed for one of Tommy’s hands, missed, and tried again, succeeding that time. “Protec’ ‘ou, T’ms. Sleep, ‘kay?”

“Nope.” Ghostbur firmly rested his hands on both their shoulders. “It’s nappy time for  _ both _ of you!”

Then he flung both teens over his shoulders.

That dumb strength potion. How had it not worn off by now?! Unless...the diabolical spectre had another squirrelled away. Just his luck.

Although, now that it wasn’t happening just to him...it was rather funny. So he giggled as Wilbur waltzed off with them imitating sacks of flour on his shoulders and Tommy shouting obscenity after obscenity into their older brother’s sweater.

It was like they were little kids again.

Late nights before Wilbur would finally drag him and Tommy back to bed after the fifth time of being scolded by Philza. The two had always been restless, excited by the prospect of adventure and discoveries. It would take at least six bedtime stories every night to get them to go to sleep, and even then they would sneak out for some fun.

Being plopped down next to each other inside a different tent, one with a blue bed, Tubbo wondered if this was Wilbur’s tent.

“Wilbur, you don’t need to—”

“I want to, Tommy. Besides, it’s your Tubbo time.”

Vaguely, the sound of Tommy’s weak protest registered in Tubbo’s mind but Tommy was warm and Tubbo was just so tired.

Being president was hard and exhausting.

When they were kids it was simpler. 

Tubbo had always been small, and curling up beside Tommy felt like protection and safety. It felt warm. 

Like a fire.

Tommy was a bit like fire.

A fire that was home.

~

He wasn’t sure who fell asleep first, but it didn’t really matter.

They were together.

Much later, however, Tubbo was the first one to wake up.

Nightmares were not uncommon, and Tubbo had had a lifetime to get to know all of Tommy’s tells. Trembling, and soft whispers. Whimpers and restless shifting.

When Tommy shifted, Tubbo’s name fearfully falling from his lips in a hoarse whisper, it made something in Tubbo’s chest ache and he was suddenly much more awake.

He curled closer, clinging to his best friend, his brother.

“I’m so sorry,  _ so sorry _ , Tommy. I hope someday you can forgive me.”

They weren’t okay, not at all, but Tubbo couldn’t really afford to not be at the top of his game, could he?

He was the president of L’Manberg.

Tommy was exiled.

Because of him.

And Tubbo couldn’t protect Tommy while he was outside of L’Manberg territory.

Why did he have to send his best friend out alone?

He hated this.

Everything he seemed to do only hurt Tommy. When would the cycle finally end?

He felt cold. Very cold. If...if Tommy was fire, did that make Tubbo the ice?

But then Tommy was there, pulling Tubbo closer.

And together they were warm.

That would have to be enough for now.


	3. Tubboat Steering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wonderful Bee Friend for the troubled children

Tubbo was tending silently to his bees when Ghostbur approached him with _that_ smile, the evil conniving one, holding something behind his back.

“Whacha got there, Ghostbur?”

“A surprise!”

“Oh really?” Tubbo feigned disinterest, secretly wary. “What’s the surprise?” 

“Tubbo, if I told you that would _ruin_ the surprise and that would be _awful_.”

Already feeling a headache coming on, Tubbo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me you didn’t steal someone’s pet.”

“No, no, no! I would never!”

“Then what—”

Wilbur tackled him with a glowing item in his hand. Enchanted.

“Wilbur!”

Cackling, Ghostbur sat up in delight. 

Tubbo now had a leash with a curse of binding wrapped around his waist. 

_Why—?_

He was _this close_ to complete and total despair.

“ _Wilbur_ , this thing is never going to come off now!”

That grin was back. 

“Don’t worry about it, Tubbo, I just needed to make sure you don’t get lost!”

“What do you _mean_ get lost?! How would I _get lost_?”

“It’s your dedicated Tommy time! And last time I had to carry you, but you didn’t like that very much, so this time I found a way you can walk!”

Tubbo looked at one of the bees that had frozen on his finger.

It looked once at Wilbur and once at him before it flew away, buzzing loudly, leaving him behind to deal with Ghostbur’s crap just like everybody else.

Tubbo sighed, dropping his hand. “Again. Dedicated Tommy time? Not a thing! Wilbur, I told you, I can’t just up and _leave_ L’Manberg whenever I want to see Tommy!”

“But that’s why I’m here! I’m the one who makes sure you _do_ have the time! Silly.”

Wilbur pulled out a shimmering book and opened it to the first page before shoving it into Tubbo’s face. 

“See? The plan says that part of the dedicated Tommy time includes a handsome ghost escort! I have the book to prove it. Look! It’s official and everything.”

Tubbo sighed, rubbing a rough hand over his face before looking at Ghostbur. “I can’t keep running off, Wilbur. I just, I can’t. There’s...there’s some problems that I have to deal with as president.”

How was he supposed to mention that Technoblade was currently on the national hit list?

“Ughhhhh, _again_ with the presidency stuff? C’mon, we both know there’s something much more important than all that: Tommy time! Come along now, we’re on a tight schedule, I mean, have you _looked_ at the book? Yeesh, so much to do and so little time!” And somehow proving it _was_ possible to be more annoying than he was already, Ghostbur gave the leash a half a dozen tugs, all in rapid succession.

Tubbo glared at Wilbur before he dropped to the ground, sitting in the midst of his bee farm. “I told you, Wilbur, I’m not doing this. I can’t just drop everything and run off playing pretend.”

Ghostbur looked taken aback for a moment before his eyes narrowed in challenge. “Fine.”

Looking up, surprised, Tubbo expected him to leave, but instead Wilbur pulled out a boat and set it down on the ground before nudging Tubbo into it.

Tubbo stared at Ghostbur aghast, mouth wide open. “Did you just—?!”

With a devilish grin, Wilbur tugged on the leash and began dragging both Tubbo and the boat toward the communal nether portal.

“I did!”

As they passed a confused Ranboo and Niki, the half endermen called out to them. “Um, whatcha’ got there, Ghostbur?”

Niki looked at Tubbo, eyebrow raised as if she suspected _he_ was the one to blame here. Tubbo did his best to pointedly ignore Ghostbur answering Ranboo with “A smoothie!” in the background. It was too distracting.

“Why is Wilbur tugging you around in a boat?”

Tubbo opened his mouth to answer, but Ghostbur cheerfully cut him off before he even began. “It’s all part of the plan! Step one, ghoulishly charming chauffeur.”

Ranboo walked beside the boat, curiosity clearly shining in his eyes as he tried to hide a smile.

“Well, you got the ghoulish part right,” Niki giggled, falling in step with the two walking. “What’s step two?”

“Step two is the most important! The delivery! Can’t go messing up the delivery, you know, the book says it’ll end the world.”

Tubbo groaned, leaning back in the boat. “I’m not a _package_ , Ghostbur. I’m the president of L’Manberg and I have important duties to get to.”

With a small indulgent smile, Niki glanced back at Tubbo, who was still pouting in the boat. “Are you sure that not delivering the package will end the world, Wil?”

“Yeah, that sounds a bit extreme for being Tubbo’s taxi service,” Ranboo agreed with a snicker.

Shrugging, Ghostbur dragged the boat down a small flight of stairs, making the whole thing bounce and Tubbo's teeth clack together. “Hey, I trust the book. I’m pretty sure it knows what it's doing. Do _you_ want to risk ending the world?”

Ranboo and Niki exchanged a look, and Tubbo could just see the barely concealed grins. They turned back to Ghostbur and chorused, “No!”

“Well, good! Then I’m sure you’ll let me and my _very important package_ through to the portal so we can continue our quest and keep the world not-ended.” Wilbur tugged the boat down another short flight of stairs. Tubbo was pretty sure he was doing it on purpose at this point.

Turning in the boat, gripping the sides, Tubbo glared at his two friends. “Do neither of you care that your president is being taken hostage by a crazy ghost that listens to books he wrote himself?”

Niki patted him on the head with a small smile. “We wouldn’t want the world to end, Tubbo.”

“She’s right, Tubbo, none of us want that.” Ranboo nodded wisely, though his cracked grin wasn’t hidden.

“Bye you two!” Ghostbur called cheerfully.

Ranboo and Niki waved happily after them. “Buh-bye! Have fun!”

Tubbo buried his face in the palms of his hands. “Why is the world like this?”

“Don’t know. Wait! What if the world is already ending?! I have to get you to Tommy time _stat_!”

“Wilbur. The world is _not_ ending.”

Wilbur turned his head to study him. “Mmm, I trust the book more.” Then he went straight back to tugging them down the road.

If he could and Wilbur wasn’t already dead, Tubbo would _murder_ past-Ghostbur for writing that passage. He either had no idea what it would bring, or he had _every idea_.

Tubbo wasn’t sure which was worse.

This time the trip through the nether was much safer with the wider path, but it was just as uncomfortable. And also took even longer with Ghostbur dragging him along, by himself, in the boat.

This was, by far, the most ridiculous kidnapping to date. The fact he even had to _think_ that sentence should be a crime in and of itself. Maybe he should outlaw kidnapping. Again, because naturally it had already been banned once.

Some ghosts clearly hadn’t gotten the message it was frowned upon yet.

Pulling at the leash wrapped around his waist, Tubbo sighed. “Wilbur, you do realize I’m not going to be able to get rid of this leash, right?”

Wilbur frowned at him as he tugged the boat up several steps. “Why would you want to get rid of it? How else am I supposed to get you to Tommy?”

With his grip tight on the sides of the boat, Tubbo glared at him. “I can walk just fine, Wilbur. And can you stop it with the stairs?”

Shaking his head, Ghostbur continued walking. “Yes, you can, but you never come on your own.” And instead of giving him a verbal answer to his question, the ghost gave the leash a sharp pull that brought the boat up yet _another pair of freaking stairs_ until it sat right next to the portal.

“You still don’t have to put a leash on me!”

“If that leash wasn’t there, would you _willingly_ come when it’s Tommy time?”

Tubbo opened his mouth to protest but realized the true answer. Slowly, his mouth closed.

Ghostbur nodded his head. “Thought so.” Then his grin returned. “Now, it’s Tommy time! Come on, he’s gonna be _so_ excited! It’s been _forever_ , since your last nap, maybe you both need another!”

Tubbo grimaced. “Ghostbur, I really don’t think that’s a good—”

The boat broke from under him with a single hit from Ghostbur, and then he was left sitting on the heated ground. Rising unsteadily to his feet, he shot Ghostbur a glare.

Ghostbur either didn’t notice it or didn’t care as he simply moved straight on for the portal, and, despite Tubbo’s best efforts to dig his feet into the netherrack floor, he was dragged along behind the ghost like a stubborn puppy. Boots leaving trenches in the dust, the teenage president was pulled unwillingly through the portal.

The last thing he caught sight of before his whole vision went purple was a cocky wink. “Trust the book, Tubbo, it’s all part of the plan!” Then the whole world warped in on itself.

This time when they popped through the portal, Tommy was sitting there, as if he had been waiting for them. But...he couldn’t have known they were coming. Tubbo certainly didn’t. So who was he waiting for?

“Tommy!” Ghostbur cheerfully announced, “I brought your Tubbo!”

Tommy’s head snapped up from resting on his knees and Tubbo winced in sympathy. That could not have been pleasant. His friend scrambled to his feet, eyes wide.

“T-Tubbo!”

There were dark shadows under his eyes, and Tubbo could have sworn that there were flecks of black gunpowder staining Tommy’s white shirt. But his friend knew better than to mess around with explosives, Tubbo was sure. Ghostbur floated beside them daily as a grim reminder. It had probably just been a creeper, and Tubbo was overthinking it. 

“You came.”

His voice. Why did it have to be so relieved? So hopeful? Why did it sound like he had only been seconds away from despair?

The guilt in Tubbo’s chest ate away at him. Hadn’t he just told Ghostbur he wouldn’t have come without the ghost’s intervention?

“You actually came. Like, _actually_ -actually came.”

“Yeah, I-I did. Did you not—” Tubbo paused, throat constricting. “Did you _not_ expect me to come back?”

“I, um.” Those were tears in Tommy’s eyes. Actual _tears_. “Y-Yeah, of course I did.” Tommy gave him a wide smile, but Tubbo wasn’t convinced. The younger rubbed at his eyes and cleared his throat. “Expect you to come, that is.”

“Perfect!” Ghostbur exclaimed, dropping Tubbo’s leash in favor of whipping out his book. “Now, let us consult the book.” 

Tommy blinked in surprise, noticing the rest of the picture before he burst out laughing. “Is that—is that an enchanted _leash_ , Tubbo?”

“Yep!” Ghostbur’s pep didn’t once falter. “It’s enchanted with Curse of Binding! Pretty nifty, isn’t it?”

“But _why_ does he have the leash wrapped around him?” Tommy asked, staring at the obvious glow of enchantment on the object. “And also, apparently, permanently bound to him?”

“Please—just don’t ask,” Tubbo groaned into his hands. Being dragged through L’Manberg like someone’s lost pet was humiliating enough.

Miraculously, Tommy dropped it.

“Let’s see…” Ghostbur hummed to himself. “Okay, so today the book says we’re gonna have a petting zoo. But, look! Tubbo doesn’t have a pet. Tommy, go help him find a bee.”

“What? Who wrote that book?”

“Fate did, Tommy. Fate did.”

Tubbo rolled his eyes. “Wilbur wrote it. Said it was all part of 'the plan.'”

“Fate shall smite the non-believers, Tubbo! Do you want to be smote?!”

“By what? Your hand? You don’t even have any sort of weapon on you.”

“Creatures like Anteaters exist for a reason!”

Tommy cut off the conversation before Wilbur could go down _that_ particular rabbit hole. “What exactly is the plan?” 

“Petting zoos!” Wilbur’s grin was Cheshire-like. “Now go get that bee for Tubbo, or so help me, I’ll ask Fate to add filling in creeper holes for next time!”

“There’s gonna be a next time?” Tommy’s voice sounded frail.

“Of course there is! He’s your Tubbo and you’re his Tommy!”

Tommy looked relieved, all the breath leaving him. “Oh.”

“Now go and find some bees!” Ghostbur smacked Tubbo over the head with his book. “The book demands it!”

“Alright, alright.” Tubbo backed up, not wanting another smack on the head. Ghostbur waved the dumb book at him vaguely threateningly, but Tubbo already got the message with the first whack. “Come on, Tommy, we might as well do as he says. We can start looking over there.”

Tommy watched him walk off to the left, an eyebrow raised. “There...aren’t any flowers over there. I know that the birch forest over by tnret has some, though.”

“Right.” He pulled an about-face, heading in the opposite direction. “Let’s go.”

They walked silently, though Tubbo could feel Tommy’s eyes repeatedly flicking to him, checking to see if he was there. It was weird.

“Um,” he tried. “How have you been?”

Tommy kept his gaze forward. “Lonely.”

“Right.”

“But it’s nice when you come to visit.”

“Oh. Um, I like coming to visit you, too. I, uh, really miss you.” 

Tommy didn’t respond for a tense second, but Tubbo wasn’t sure if that was for better or for worse. Then he spoke. “Clingy.”

Caught completely by surprise, Tubbo laughed, delighted. “ _I’m_ the clingy one?”

“Clearly. You come to visit me all the time.”

Tubbo had only visited Tommy a total of three times in the month that he had been exiled. He wouldn’t exactly call that clingy, but whatever worked for Tommy. It just felt good to be joking with him again.

With a bright grin, Tubbo teased, “You literally just said you were lonely!”

“Yeah, well, I fooled you good, didn’t I? We both know _you’re_ the lonely one without me.”

Tubbo wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but, true-to-form, his mouth answered for him before his brain. “Er, yeah. It is pretty lonely without you.”

Tommy stuttered for a moment, caught off-guard by the sudden admission. Eventually he just settled on an “Oh.”

It was awkwardly silent again.

Tubbo held back a sigh. He kept messing things up. For a moment...they had been happy again. Like before. Why did that keep being taken away?

His attention was drawn away by his trailing leash when it snagged on something. Stopping to untangle it took way longer than it should have, but Tubbo’s fingers were trembling with nerves.

When he finally managed to pull the leash free of the brush, he held the end of it in his hand and a brilliant idea struck him. He brightened. “Tommy!” Tommy stopped to look at him. “I’m a genius! We can use the other end of the leash to catch a bee! Then we won’t have to find a flower to lead it back to Wilbur!””

Crossing his arms, Tommy frowned. “What if the leash gets bound to the bee?”

“It won’t! Wilbur was able to let it go just fine.”

“Does it work differently for ghosts though?”

Tubbo was getting frustrated. They used to get into crazy schemes together all the time. Why the caution now?

“Come on," he hedged, "it’ll be fun! If the bee does end up stuck then I’ll just have a new bee friend! There’s no way it could end badly.”

Tommy didn’t look entirely convinced, but he kept his skepticism to himself, which was odd. Normally he’d jump at the chance to express his opinion. This time, however, he let it go.

“Okay. But if it gets stuck to you forever, you can’t blame me.”

Tubbo huffed. “Fine.”

Searching through the scattered birch trees in a terse silence was probably not something that Ghostbur—sorry, the _book_ —would approve of, but Tubbo couldn’t really bring himself to care.

Tommy’s voice broke the silence. “Tubbo! Over here! I found one!”

“Really?! Where?” Tubbo rushed over to Tommy’s side. 

Instead of a bee, there was a golden apple resting in Tommy’s hand, wrapped messily in strips of dried kelp. “See? It’s black and yellow and definitely a bee.”

Tubbo burst into laughter. “That’s not _black_ , Tommy. That is definitely green.”

“Would you rather I smear it in coal?”

Looking at Tommy, Tubbo paused to study him for a moment before grinning. “Would certainly look more believable, wouldn’t it?” 

Tommy was trying.

Tubbo wouldn’t make him regret it.

“Well I don’t have any coal. Do you?”

“Nope nope nope!” Tubbo shook his head, certain that he was grinning like an idiot. Scratch that, they _were_ _both_ idiots, but the best kind of idiots. 

Best friends.

Oh Notch, that was sappy. He was never saying that aloud, _ever_ , Tommy wouldn’t let him live it down.

Putting away the “bee” in his inventory, Tommy stood, brushing off his pants. “Then I guess we’ll have to find something else.”

With a shrug, Tubbo happily followed Tommy, humming a pleased little tune to himself. “We could always just look for a bee. You know, like, a real one.”

Glancing over his shoulder, Tommy gave him a mischievous grin. “Where’s the fun in that? Wilbur’ll be expecting that, and he got the leash on you, right? Why don’t we get him back?”

“How did you know—?” Tubbo stepped around one of the birch trees, not willing to admit he nearly walked into it.

Tommy shrugged nonchalantly, pushing a branch out of the way as they walked. “It was kind of obvious that Wilbur did it. Why would you ever put it on yourself?”

“Fair point.”

Tommy smirked, side-eyeing him. “Did anyone else see Wilbur dragging you around?”

Crossing his arms, Tubbo growled, stubbornly refusing to answer.

Tommy poked him in the ribs, earning a yelp and a glare. “Oh come on, don’t clam up now! It’s boring out here! I don’t get any news from L’Manberg.”

Tubbo turned his face away, though it had more to do with the stinging guilt than embarrassment.

“Okay, now I _know_ someone saw you.”

His face flushed against his say-so and he struggled to keep his features neutral. “I was just tending to my bees.”

“But who saw you?” Tommy pressed before asking with a grin, “Was it Quackity?”

“Oh Notch, no. I would have _died_ if Quackity had seen Wilbur dragging me to the nether portal with a leash and a boat—”

Tommy stopped for a moment, leaning against a tree as he laughed. “There was a _boat_?”

“Shut up! Ghostbur was to blame, focus on that!” Pouting, Tubbo threw a twig.

His target easily dodged, holding his hands innocently behind his back. “Mhmm, sure. Then was it Fundy?”

“Are you just going to guess everyone?”

“If I have to. You’ll tell me eventually, you have a _terrible_ poker face.” Ducking under a particularly low branch, Tommy thought for a moment. “Was it Niki?”

Tubbo studiously ignored the question. “Hey, do you think that’s a bee over there?”

“ _Niki_ saw?” Tommy doubled over laughing. “And—and she just _let him_?”

Knocking shoulders with his friend in retaliation, Tubbo protested, “It’s not like they thought I was in any danger!”

“Wait, _they_ ?” Tommy was outright _wheezing_ now. “Who else saw?!”

Tubbo stomped ahead, ignoring Tommy’s laughter. “I don’t have to tell you that! Let’s just—focus on finding a dumb bee, you jerk.”

“Oh my Notch, it was Ranboo, wasn’t it? _Ranboo saw_ , oh this is _gold_!”

Tubbo stumbled over a root. “Wha—how could you tell?! I didn’t even say anything!”

“I didn’t!” Cackling, Tommy shook his head. “You just gave it away, idiot!”

The two fell over laughing, falling onto the grass and leaves without a care as they both wheezed their lungs out.

Tubbo had missed this. He had missed Tommy.

Laying down in the flowers side by side, Tubbo blinked in surprise when a buzzing little bee floated out of the trees.

Sitting up and nudging his friend, Tubbo pointed. “Tommy, look! It’s a bee.”

Tommy opened his eyes a crack, squinting against the dappled sunlight breaking through the canopy. “Are we not going to prank Wilbur with a fake bee?” He sounded almost disappointed.

“We can do that too,” Tubbo placated, “but look! It’s so cute!”

“It looks like a regular bee, Big T.” Tommy huffed, but he couldn’t stifle his grin.

Tubbo stuck out his tongue. “No, you’re just uncultured. That is _clearly_ a special bee, it came out because it heard us laughing.” His eyes lit up. “Oh, it must want us as friends! Quick, we’ve gotta nab it!”

Grumbling playfully as he got up, Tommy shook his head. “Why would a bee want to be our friend? It’s a _bee_.”

“ _He_ has a name. It’s Francis, and he wants to be our friend.” Tubbo glared at his other friend. “ _You_ are going to be nice to him.” 

Grinning as he held his hands up in mock surrender, Tommy sighed. He looked over at the bee. “I guess you’re one of us now, Francis. Tubbo has decreed it, thus it must be so. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Tubbo punched him in the arm. “Come on, help me catch him before he flies away.”

With a grin—and Tommy rubbing his now sore shoulder—the two climbed to their feet to observe their options. They had the flowers at their feet, and the leash.

Plucking one of the flowers from the grass they had been laying in, Tommy presented the yellow dandelion to Tubbo with a dramatic flourish. “A flower for the bee, my good sir.”

Tubbo cracked a grin. “Why thank you, Sir Tomias. I’m sure Francis will appreciate such a bountiful gift.”

“He better!” Tommy grinned back. “I searched high and low for a flower fitting such a grand and majestic bee. There is none in all the land matching his splendor!”

Francis buzzed warmly, fluttering closer to Tommy.

Tommy blinked in surprise and almost dropped the flower. “What is it doing? Why is it flying _right at me_?!”

“You’re holding the flower, idiot!” Laughing, Tubbo held out his hand.“If you don’t want him to fly towards you, give it to me!”

Tommy all but threw the flower into Tubbo’s hand, though Francis only buzzed closer, as if Tommy still held the yellow blossom. “Why isn’t it working, _why isn’t it working_?”

It was quite the comedic scene to see, the tall boy frantically ducking in a doomed-to-fail attempt to escape Francis, a bee not even close to being the same height as his ankles.

“I don’t know!” Looking on in fond amusement despite how much his friend was panicking, Tubbo held out the flower to try and coax the bee to him instead. Francis, dumbfoundingly, completely ignored the offering. Well, now he really _didn’t_ know. This was odd.

With an accusatory glower, Tommy ducked under and away from the bee again when it made for him a second time. “Well _you_ obviously did something!”

Tubbo laughed in disbelief. “What could I have possibly done? Francis just seems to like you.” 

“LIES! TREACHERY!”

Oh.

It clicked.

“No, it’s not. Look,” Tubbo patiently pointed, and, sure enough, the bee was cuddling into Tommy’s arm. Not stinging him or attacking him or whatever Tommy thought it was bees did in their pastimes. Tommy really needed to learn more about bees, Tubbo should teach him. “Say something nice to him.”

“What?” Tommy scowled. “No, I’m not saying something _nice_ to the _bee_.”

“Oh, come on.”

“No.”

“Tommy.” Tubbo gave his friend the best set of puppy eyes he could muster. “Please?” 

In a second, Tommy caved. Much faster than usual, Tubbo noted with a frown. 

“Oh, fine.” Sighing, Tommy turned to look at the bee nuzzling his arm, making little buzzes here and there. “Francis, your, uh. Your stripes are very...stripey.”

The bee reacted instantly, buzzing happily as it zoomed in frenzied circles around Tommy—nearly making him scream—before it settled into his hair with a long, contented buzz.

“Aww, it’s like you have a little bee halo, Tommy! And— _don’t you dare_.” 

Tommy froze, his hand barely an inch away from his head, moments away from frantically swatting the bee out of his messy blond hair. He glared. “Get him out of my hair, Tubbo, or, so help me, I’ll do it myself.”

Tubbo laughed so hard he felt slightly light headed. He hadn’t laughed like this in a while. “Fine, fine. Francis, I love you, you’re a very dapper little bee. You practically glow in the sunlight, I think you’re my sunshine.”

Like a bullet from a musket, the bee was suddenly buzzing happily in Tubbo’s hair instead.

Grinning from ear-to-ear, Tubbo lifted his hand to pat their new bee friend softly. “See? Not so bad. He only wanted someone to appreciate him, you’re just a baby.”

“He has a _stinger,_ Tubbo, and he was _in my hair_.”

“Oh, grow up.” Tubbo snickered to himself as Francis buzzed quietly. “Baby.”

“Just because I’m the youngest here doesn’t make me infantile! I’m a big man, same as you, you jerk!”

Humming, Tubbo didn’t rise to the bait, instead putting on a smile. “Can we go show Wilbur Francis now?”

That made Tommy pause.

“I thought we were going to get another fake bee to trick Wilbur.”

The older floundered for a moment. “Well, we were. That is, until this started taking _forever_.” Tubbo couldn’t indulge in being a kid, even as much as he wanted to. The reminder hurt, but he couldn’t just say nothing. “I have things I need to get to, Tommy.”

Tommy seemed to deflate a little. 

He’d done it again.

Tubbo sighed.

He kept doing that, didn’t he? Hurting Tommy, that is.

He knew it was a bad idea for Wilbur to bring him here.

“Well, what about the dumb flower?” Tommy proposed after a moment, gesturing to the yellow flower in Tubbo’s hands. “We could use that?”

Tubbo bit his lip and hesitantly nodded. “I guess.” 

“Great!” Snatching it from Tubbo’s hands and brushing past him to head back, he called over his shoulder, “Then let’s go trick Wilbur!”

Tubbo hesitated, watching his friend start off.

Tommy’s voice was far too chipper, and it was a hasty disguise. For a moment, it had cracked, and Tubbo could clearly tell he wasn’t okay. But, from the way he had acted, it seemed the disguise was less for Tubbo and more for Tommy himself. Tubbo wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“Wait!” Running after his friend, Tubbo called after him, “Tommy! You have stupidly long legs, you jerk!” Catching up with him, he knocked their shoulders together. “It’s like trying to follow a giant.”

Tubbo could see the hint of a smile tugging at Tommy’s face as the taller boy muttered, “Clingy.”

They hadn’t been too far into the birch forest, so it took no time at all for them to catch sight of tnret. And, coincidentally, the very ghost they were looking for.

Pausing just before Ghostbur would see them, Tommy tugged Tubbo to a stop and started messing with his chestnut brown hair, rearranging it meticulously.

“What are you doing?” Bewildered, Tubbo tried to smack Tommy’s hands away and straighten his now mussed up floof.

But Tommy smacked _his_ hands away, claiming hand supremacy, and continued fiddling with some of the individual strands. “Hiding Francis better.”

Tubbo rolled his eyes, but resigned himself to it. “He hasn’t moved for a while, is he okay?”

“He looks fine. I think he just fell asleep.” Ruffling Tubbo’s hair one more time, Tommy nodded to himself. “That should be good enough.”

“Aww, he’s asleep?” Tubbo could cry, it was so cute Francis trusted him so much. He wished he could see it.

“Tubbo, stop being wholesome,” Tommy complained, “We’re trying to be tough, hardcore pranksters here.” His poorly hidden laugh was enough to make Tubbo start laughing as well. 

Making sure not to tilt his head or do anything to mess up Tommy’s work, the two made their way over. Bee hidden in Tubbo’s hair and flower still in Tommy’s hand, hid behind his back, the two stopped just in front of the humming ghost who had yet to notice them.

Ghostbur was cross-legged in the air, flipping through the pages of his dumb book. When he looked up and caught sight of them, his face broke out in a happy grin. “Oh! Tommy! Tubbo! You’re back! Did you find a bee friend for Tubbo?”

“Yep!” Tubbo smiled, head carefully erect. “Took us forever to find it, but we did.” 

Tommy grinned sharply, both hands behind his back. “You wanna see ‘im?”

Wilbur eagerly dropped the book and floated closer, eyes crinkled at the edges as his smile grew. “Yes, yes! I do!”

“You sure? I think he’s a shy bee. I dunno,” he gave Tubbo a consoling look. “What do you think, should we show him?”

Tubbo couldn’t bite back his giggle. “Yes yes yes, I’m sure Francis would love to meet him!”

With all the ceremony of a cheesy romcom proposal, down on one knee and everything, Tommy presented Wilbur with the flower. “See? This is our new bee friend. Tubbo named him Francis.” 

It was a little crushed and more than a little wilted, but none of its appearance compared to the wilted look on Ghostbur’s betrayed face. “Tommy…this isn’t—” The ghost looked like he might cry.

Tommy almost choked on his laugh, flower abandoned to the grass as he dropped it to wrap himself in a hug in an attempt to keep himself upright.

Tubbo struggled not to do the same, his cheeks puffed out to contain his own explosive laughter. “W-what do y-you mean, Ghostbur? I-it’s a b-b-bee, isn’t it?”

“The book says—” Ghostbur flipped frantically through the pages in his book, nearly tearing some of them out with the force he was flicking them. “That is _not_ a bee. Fate doesn’t—Bees aren’t— _Fate says that is not a bee_!”

The look of genuine distress on Wilbur’s face did it.

Finally caving, Tommy burst into laughter, doubling over, and Tubbo was quick to follow, albeit with much less falling all over the place and rib-bruising.

“Sorry,” Tommy gasped for air, “Wilbs, we had to!”

“We did find a real bee,” Tubbo reassured quickly, taking pity on the poor soul. Leaning forward a little, he parted his hair, finally revealing their little snoozing friend to the ghost. “And we did, in fact, name him Francis.”

Tommy snickered obnoxiously. “Don’t you like our bee friend Francis, Wilbur?” 

“You—!” Ghostbur, smacked Tommy over the head with his book, which he’d somehow recovered from the ground without either of them noticing.

The jostling of Tubbo moving his hair around and raucous laughter woke Francis up, as was evident by the buzzing that filled the air as he flew up and circled Tubbo’s head like a moon caught in orbit.

“Francis, you’re awake!” Tubbo cheered, ignoring the fighting going on behind him as he picked up the other end of his enchanted leash and tethered it to the little bee so he wouldn’t get lost. Francis only buzzed happily in reply and nuzzled Tubbo’s hand. “See? We did find ourselves a little bee friend!”

Ghostbur’s death glare did not abate, and did nothing to stifle Tommy’s giggles.

Staring at the both of them with the most dead-eye look a ghost could have—which was pretty dead—he reached into his inventory and pulled out something that glinted in the sunlight, momentarily blinding the two. Then, before either could protest, the splash potion was already tossed, broken, and splashing all over Francis.

“Ghostbur!” Tubbo gasped in horror. “ _What_? What did you just splash Francis wi—?!” He was cut off with a cry when he was almost bowled over. 

From an untrained eye, it would appear as though nothing had caused it. Look closer, and one would have seen a bee, attached to a leash that was attached to a boy, fly closer to a flower some blocks away. 

A bee.

“What?” With an innocent grin, Wilbur held up the book and shrugged. “The book demanded it.”

Gaping at the ghost, Tubbo dug his heels into the dirt as Francis tried to drag him closer to another patch of flowers in the grass. “Did you—did you turn one of your _strength pots_ into a _splash potion_?!”

“Where are you even getting these?”

“Tommy, that isn’t even important right now!” Tubbo shouted over him, tugging fiercely against the leash as Francis attempted to head toward an oak forest and take Tubbo along with him.

Ghostbur followed along, humming happily. “They really should start making splash potions of milk.”

“Is that what the book says?” Tommy asked curiously.

“No, that’s what Ghostbur says.” The spectre rolled his eyes. “I have a mind of my own, you know.”

“Tommy, come help me!” Throwing all of his weight back, Tubbo was frustrated to see that it made no difference. The bee moved, and Tubbo was dragged along behind him.

“Alright! Just—” Tommy turned to Ghostbur, an unusual seriousness in his face. “Don’t you _ever_ refer to yourself in the third-person again.” Then he was off after Tubbo. 

“Have you tried removing the leash?! You said Ghostbur could let go, surely you can get Francis off!”

Tubbo pulled against the leash again, and Francis buzzed along happily. “He’s currently _dragging me_ , Tommy! I can’t just _remove_ the leash right now!”

“Sure you can—” Tubbo got pulled forward so suddenly, he fell on his face and had his body dragged through a pile of leaves. “—well, okay, maybe you can’t.”

Tubbo lifted his head and spat out a leaf. “HELP ME, DUMMY!”

“What am I supposed to do?!”

“I don’t know, grab the leash!”

The sight was almost humorous. Well, from the amount Ghostbur was cackling behind them, it was most definitely humorous.

Two teenagers being dragged through the woods by a bee the size of an acorn.

“You know, I don’t think this is working, Tubbo.” 

“ _Really_?” Tubbo glared at his taller friend, sarcasm dripping from his words. “What tipped you off?” 

“I think it was the bee,” Ghostbur offered cheerfully between cackles as Tommy tripped over a protruding root and also fell on his face, losing his grip on the leash.

“How has the strength pot _not_ worn off yet?” Tommy groaned from the ground.

“I make only the best strength potions! Fate declared it so!”

Being tugged along by a careless Francis, Tubbo grumbled, “I have some choice words for Fate.” 

“BLASPHEMY!” The flying book of Fate flew through the air, but simply bounced off of an oak tree harmlessly.

Tubbo sat up as best he could with a bee tugging him along on the ground by the waist, trying to regain his feet. “Did you seriously just chuck your book at me?”

“Who’s being blasphemous _now_?” Tommy crowed, recovering from his face-plant.

“Fate willed you to shut up!”

Although he was now standing once again, Tubbo found himself stumbling. “Wilbur, I hate you and your strength pots and your enchanted leash, and once Francis is back to normal, I’m going to outlaw strength pots.”

“Oh, is that all?” Ghostbur smiled amicably. Then threw another strength pot directly at Francis.

Which was funny. He couldn’t aim a book, but apparently he could aim a splash potion. Convenient. 

The strength of the tiny bee was suddenly enough that Tubbo felt his feet leave the ground. “Wilbur?!”

“Have fun! Ohhh, you’re gonna get to fly, how exciting!”

“ _Tubbo_!” Tommy grabbed for Tubbo’s hand and managed to catch him.

Laughing breathlessly from the close save, scared out of his mind, Tubbo held on as tightly as he could. “This is the _one time_ your height is useful, Tommy—the _one time_.”

“Shut up, I _will_ let you go,” Tommy threatened, but he was smiling just as widely. 

Tubbo couldn’t resist cheekily retorting, “Nah, you’d miss me too much.”

“He would!” Ghostbur cried, pointing to something on one of the pages in the book.

(How did he keep retrieving it so fast?)

“ _Wilbur, shut up_! You are banned from conversation right now, you’re only causing more problems!” The effectiveness of the strength potion was quite obvious as it started to lift both of the boys off the ground.

“I was just giving my input! Fate talks a lot about ClingyInnit, ClingyInnit worries it so much!”

Grunting as he grabbed onto a tree, Tommy shot back, “Well, Fate needs to mind its own business!”

In the midst of the argument, Tommy’s attention waned along with his grip. Tubbo clung to his hand desperately as he started to slip. “Tommy, don’t you _dare_ let go of me!”

“All business is Fate’s, it’s _Fate_!” Ghostbur exclaimed, throwing his hands out.

“ _Why are you like this_?!”

“ _Tommy_!”

Their grip on each other broke and Tommy was dropped hard to the ground in a groaning pile of child. 

Swallowing against the knot in his throat, Tubbo shouted. “I swear to Notch, if I fall and I die, Tommy, I’m coming back just to haunt you!”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Wilbur scoffed from the ground. He was idly scrawling something new in the book, and both boys had never wanted to see a tome burn more. “You’ll live, you’ll be fine.”

“Writing that down in the book of Fate isn’t going to change reality, Wilbur!” Tubbo held onto the leash tightly. “I’m literally being flown away!” And he was. Francis had seen something interesting in the tree-tops and was flying far higher than Tubbo was remotely comfortable with.

For reference, a height he would be comfortable with would be an inch off the ground. He was going to resurrect Ghostbur and then kill him again.

“I’m ignoring you, you blasphemous hog.” To Tommy, and far more politely, Ghostbur added, “Tommy, you should probably try and help Tubbo.”

“Oh, _should I_ ?” Tommy glared. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t _fly_.”

Clutching the swinging leash with a death grip, Tubbo shouted down, “You could at least make sure that when I fall, it’s not to my death!”

“Death is inevitable. But do you want me to grab a water bucket?”

“ _YES!_ I want you to grab a water bucket!” With a shout, Tubbo gasped and brought his feet up so they didn’t clip a tree. “A-And don’t say things like that!”

“Yeesh, someone’s demanding today,” Tommy grumbled.

Ghostbur shot him a sympathetic look. “I know, right?”

“DON’T SYMPATHIZE WITH MY KIDNAPPER, YOU CLOUDY JULY SPRING DAY!” 

“I wasn’t! _He_ was sympathizing with _me_ ! And, I’m sorry, _WHAT_?”

Tubbo repeated loudly, “CLOUDY JULY SPRING DAY!”

“July is a _summer month_!”

“ _I KNOW_!”

The glare he received made Tommy back off a little, though it was hard for Tubbo to tell from how high up he was. He was moving, at least.

Tommy hurried over to Logstedshire. “Ghostbur?” He called over his shoulder. “Where’s the extra water bucket?”

“Isn’t there one in the kitchen?”

“Well, I can’t _find_ one in the kitchen.”

“Have you checked the attic?”

Tommy’s head popped out of the cabin. “There’s an attic?”

“Ha, no. Try the storage room.”

Tubbo was honestly beginning to feel a little sick with how high up he was, the only thing keeping him from plummeting being a leash and a bee with a potion that was sure to wear off soon.

“ _Tommy_ . Whatever you’re doing, _finish it now_.”

“Uh, uh, there’s no water bucket in the storage room, Wilbur!” Tommy's voice was growing a little panicked now. Time was running out fast.

“Really? Huh. Could’ve sworn there was.”

“TOmmy! I’m about to fall!” Tubbo could already see the orange particles starting to fade from Francis.

This was so _stupid_.

He was about to lose his last life to a _bee_.

“Do you have any iron on you?”

“No.” Ghostbur hesitated for a moment before holding up the shimmering pages. “Need the book?”

“I’m...good, thanks.”

Francis dropped a couple blocks, and Tubbo felt his heart leap into his throat. “Tommy, Tommy, I have some iron on me! If I drop it, will you make a bucket?!”

Tommy, voice muffled by the wooden walls, shouted, “Yes! Drop it!”

“Okay!”

Struggling to hold onto the leash with only one hand to steady himself and wincing slightly at the painful feeling of the leash pulled taut against his skin—there was _definitely_ going to be a bruise there come tomorrow—Tubbo managed to free up his other hand to reach into his inventory and chuck the ingots to the ground blocks below him.

He watched the iron fall to the ground quickly, and felt a little queasy at the sound of them making impact with the forest floor.

“Any day now would be great, Tommy!”

“I’m working on it!”

“Well can you work on it a _little_ —” Tubbo yelped and grabbed the leash with both hands as Francis plummeted again in height. “ _Faster_ , Tommy, _faster_!”

Tubbo heard the sound of the mooshroom cow before he saw it. Oh you have _got_ to be kidding him.

“Go, Henry!” Ghostbur cheered. “You’re the best!”

Like a knight in shining armor, there was his friend riding a mooshroom cow, crafting table in hand.

Tubbo was going to resort to murder.

“Your last life is _mine_ , TommyInnit, I swear to Notch, I’m _killing you_!”

Laughing, Ghostbur wrote something else in the book of Fate. “Why? He’s coming to save you, Tubbo!”

“He actually took the time to saddle up a _cow_ , Wilbur!” Tubbo was nearly certain he was going to be dead before he even reached the ground. “Saddles aren’t even made for cows!”

“I’ve made saddles for cows.”

Sighing, Tubbo rested his forehead against the leash. “No, Ghostbur, you haven’t.”

“Oh.” The ghost looked genuinely confused. “Then what did I saddle?”

“Nevermind! Clearly, you are confused!”

Tommy waved up at him, trying to catch his attention. “Don’t worry, Tubbo! I’m coming to save you!”

“ _You’re_ the one that should be worrying about saving yourself from _ME_ , you cow-saddling brother of a GHOST DISTURBANCE!”

Ghostbur gasped, clutching the book to his chest. “Now that’s just plain rude. I’m your brother, too.”

“Not anymore! I disown all of you!”

Tommy reached the ingots but didn’t pick them up, instead sitting back in his saddle and crossing his arms. “Is that so? Well, then maybe I _won’t_ save you.”

“To _MMY_ !” He shrieked as Francis dropped again. “Don’t you _dare_ let me fall!”

Huffing, Tommy leaned forward, resting his chin on top of Henry’s head. “Haven’t you heard? I’ve been disowned. I don’t listen to you anymore.”

“I’m going to _die_ and you’re being _petty_?!” Tubbo clung to the leash and he was certain that his hands were going to be covered in crescent marks from his nails after this.

“You’re probably not going to die, Tubbo. The fall isn’t too far,” Ghostbur offered. “And, anyway, Fate wills you to live!”

“Wow, I am _so comforted_ ,” Tubbo growled as Francis dropped another block.

Smirking, Tommy gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Give the ghost a break, he’s trying.”

“Well, neither of you are TRYING HARD ENOUGH!”

Ghostbur finally stood and walked over. “You’re not going to die, Tubbo.” He looked up and smiled. “I promise. I would never hurt you, okay?”

Even though the Wilbur they knew was dead, Tubbo saw a bit of his older brother shining through Ghostbur’s face and posture and eyes. It made warmth curl into his chest and Tubbo unconsciously relaxed, some of the panic uncoiling from his throat. 

Tubbo nodded silently, words catching in his throat before he could speak them.

Calling up, Tommy held the iron in his hand. “Do you still want me to make a bucket for you?”

“Yes, please,” Tubbo said meekly and far more quietly.

Tommy nodded his head and walked off with the crafting table and Henry in tow.

Ghostbur gave him a big smile, and jotted another note down in the book.

That was it. Tubbo was burning that thing.

“Wilbur, if you’re writing anything about Fate and buckets, I _promise_ I will find a way to kill you a second time.”

The ghost’s smile was soft. “No. I’m writing down what’s happening and how I’m feeling. I don’t want to forget this.”

Tubbo didn’t have anything to say to that. He supposed he could let the book live. He still hated Fate, though.

“I got the bucket!” Tommy cheered, walking up beside Henry. “You better not need the extra iron though because I may have accidentally made five sets of shears first.”

“ _What_? Why would you even—” 

Ghostbur laughed. “How do you make five pairs of shears _accidentally,_ Tommy?”

Tubbo gave up. “You know what? Who cares. Just get me down.”

“Coming right up, Big man!” Dumping the water he had apparently gotten when he walked off unceremoniously on the ground, Tommy grinned up at him.

It wasn’t a second too soon.

Francis’s fizzling wore off, and Tubbo dropped from the sky like an anvil.

The drop wasn’t too far, like Wilbur had said, but it still made him feel sick.

“Never again. _Never again_.” Tubbo gasped, hopping out of the water soaked to the bone and bending over, nearly dropping to the ground to give it an exhausted hug. “Why does Philza like flying again?”

Ghostbur chuckled. “He once said it was something about feeling free.”

Wrinkling his nose in distaste, Tubbo wiped some of the water from his eyes, his brown hair a clumpy mess. His suit was a bit ruined too, from all their escapades and being dropped into a puddle. Quackity would _not_ be pleased. “I think I would rather learn to saddle a cow.”

“Oh no no no,” Tommy shook his head as he leaned against Henry, emphatically waving his hands. “You don’t want that, it’s not easy, lemme tell ya.”

“Then why did you take the time to saddle a cow while I was panicking?!” 

“Uhhhh,” Tommy trailed off before looking at his wrist. “Oh, would you look at the time! You should probably be getting back to presidential stuff, huh?”

Tubbo smacked Tommy’s arm. “You jerk! You don’t have a watch!”

As Tommy started sputtering insults for getting his arm wet, a loud buzzing drew Tubbo’s attention to his ( _thankfully_ ) water-proof communicator. 

“Oh.” Frowning, Tubbo looked at the screen and sighed when he saw that it was Quackity asking where he was. Their time was up.

Tommy's smile when he looked back up was bittersweet, understanding but sad. “Guess my watch was accurate. I get it, I do, you have a country to get back to.”

Interrupting with an indignant squawk, Ghostbur forced his way between them and waved the book of Fate in their faces. “No, you can’t! We haven’t even had our petting zoo yet!” He reached over to Henry and hurriedly petted the mooshroom on his soft, grey nose. “Quick, pet them! Pet them both!”

As the ghost rushed over and reached for Francis, who was perfectly dry and buzzing contentedly, his hand brushed the leash linking to the two and it crumbled to dust.

The three stared at the pile of grey dust in dead silence.

“Are. You. _Kidding_ _me_?!”

Tommy burst into uproarious laughter. “Oh Notch, that’s amazing.”

“But now Francis won’t stay!” Sounding genuinely distraught, Ghostbur quickly cupped the little bee in his hands to keep him from flying off.

With a smile, Tubbo gently pried open the ghost’s hands to free Francis. “Don’t worry, Wilbur. I think he’s pretty content here.” 

“In fact, he’s so content here that…” Tubbo brought the bee over to Tommy and plopped the little thing in Tommy’s unruly hair. “I think he’ll stay with you!”

“What?” Tommy’s look of shock almost made the entire stupid previous stunt worth it. Okay, not really, that stunt was pretty horrible, and Tubbo had made sure to give the dust pile a good kick on his way over to Tommy, but Tubbo _needed_ just one win today. Just one. (also, ew, now he had leash dust stuck to his sopping shoe, _regret—_ ) “But-but bees are _your_ thing!”

“Exactly!” Tubbo rested his hands on Tommy’s shoulders. “So even when I can’t be with you, I’ll still be here! Francis will be with you! And we already know he likes you a lot.”

Tommy still looked uncertain, but then Francis was there, nuzzling his cheek and buzzing a sweet little tune to him. It made Tommy smile. “I, uh, okay.” The hesitation from his voice dropped and he playfully glared at his best friend. “Oh Ender, please tell me you aren’t _converting_ me.”

Bursting into laughter, Tubbo pretended like the tears he was wiping away were from his amusement. “The more the merrier!” His communicator vibrated again, more insistently this time.

Multiple times, actually. 

_Quackity_.

“Alright, I gotta go, but maybe I’ll see you later.” It slipped out before Tubbo could stop it, more instinct than anything, and internally he grimaced. He couldn’t _promise_ that! He was going to be busy these next few weeks, what was he saying?

But Tommy lit up like a star, his smile looking the most real and bright out of all the ones he’d shown throughout their day together. 

Tubbo swallowed thickly, his heart cracking.

He couldn’t shatter that hope.

~~He couldn’t hurt Tommy even more.~~

“See you!”

The last thing Tubbo saw before he went through the portal was Ghostbur spoiling the cow with pets because Tommy and Tubbo were “mean” and Tommy’s bright, happy face as he delicately cupped Francis in his hands.

The hold looked gentle and tender, like he was cupping a treasure worth more than a thousand diamonds.

Tubbo tried to ignore the feeling that was left in his gut.

He caught Tommy saying, “Ghostbur, not a word of any of this to Dream.”

Then he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wyrm’s notes in regards to Wilbur: Like, oh, fake me out will you? Have strong bee then. Good luck, Imma go get a snack, ghostbur out
> 
> Misty: Also - we saw some comments - we actually write this story together on the same document, live editing and all that wonderful jazz, so what you’re reading is a fusion of our best. Most of the comedy and more detailed parts come from Wyrm (edit from Wyrm: yes, they come from me being tired lol), and most of the plot direction tends to be from me. So if updates are slow - that’s why. We write the story together, and don’t work on it without the other, because it turns out so much better when we do it together. Get yourself a Platonic Soulmate - it’s amazing. <3
> 
> Wyrm: I do have one lol it’s you, you’re incredible  
> Anyway, wow, ha. The, uh, the response to this has been insane, I’m actually a little intimidated ngl. I hope we continue to please you with our hybrid writing style, you’re all great :)
> 
> Misty: Also -I'm the one posting the chapter so I have the power - Wyrm is amazing and this chapter's most amazing bits all came from her, including most all of the Wilbur dialogue. She's brilliant - and gives life to Wilbur that makes me die of laughter every time. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! Stay safe <3


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